This week has seen service on Edinburgh Trams terminated short of the city centre again but once again there is a good (and quite exciting!) reason for it – the installation of the last of the overhead wires on the Trams to Newhaven extension which will see the original line in York Place connected up. Once this work is completed it will be possible for tram testing to get underway ahead of the start of public services.
Services are due to only be running between the Airport and West End from Monday 13th February until Sunday 19th February to allow this work to take place (West End is the closest crossover to the end of the line after York Place). Ticket acceptance is in place on local bus services to allow passengers to complete (or start!) their journeys.
Its expected that once the wire is installed here that within the next few weeks the first trams may make it onto the extension. This would, presumably, initially be at night with the familiar slow speed gauging runs to make sure that the infrastructure is as it should be. Following that testing and commissioning would progress before the line is cleared for public service.
And when may that be? Spring 2023 remains the official Council line as to when it will happen and recently George Lowder (Transport for Edinburgh Chief Executive) has told an Edinburgh Tourism summit that the line is set to be opened “by 21 June”. That is still the spring date which would mean it did remain on target and its likely that the “by” in his statement could be key. No official date has been announced and we’d doubt it will be until a significant amount of testing has taken place and they are confident it can be achieved.
This view is taken in Picardy Place and shows contractors attaching a bracket arm to a traction pole. The new tramstop is to the right of the photo.
Where once there was a tramstop there is now just track. On the site of the old York Place stop brackets are also been attached to the traction poles.
Its now just about the installation of the overhead as this four wheeled truck has been used to check the clearance for the swept path of the tram. This is close to Balfour Street stop.
More activity at the foot of Leith Walk where work on restoring paving and roadway was underway to allow two way traffic to resume along the full length of the Walk ahead of tram testing. (Photographs x4 by John Hampton, 13th February 2023)
A day later and work was continuing. Taken just beyond the Picardy Place tramstop here we see more attention to the new overhead. The façade of the former church is now the entrance to the Glasshouse Hotel, part of the Omni Centre.
We now move between London Road junction and Annandale Street where more work takes place. This is the westbound (Airport bound) track as we look towards Leith.
Another look at the scene as the wire is installed.
A road-rail vehicle from SRS Rail Systems was used with the wire being rolled out from the drum on the rear. The vehicle was being used in rail mode. (Photographs x4 by Roy Calderwood, 14th February 2023)
Brilliant work being done.